Roadtrip 1 - Day 8/9 - Oregon, Idaho, Home

PHOTO DUMP BELOW!

Wednesday, August 3rd

We had no dramatic plans, so slept in and eventually showered and slithered our way on out to breakfast.  The "Original Pancake House" was our place of choice.  It had good reviews and I love pancakes.  Daren has no sense of direction so we GPSed it and proceeded to stuff our faces.  Daren had regular buttermilk pancakes and a plate of 3 thick bacon slices that cost $6 (for just the bacon).  I got blueberry pancakes and bacon, but ended up giving him one of my slices.

After that we waddled home (or was it to get gas? i don't even know). I had icecream to chow down on, but  I'm pretty sure I blogged about that.  Anyway, I needed to do laundry but they were cleaning the carpet so we waited.  Watched some more anime, then would start laundry and larva around while it was running and drying.

Daren took a nap, and dinner was reheated pizza and icecream for me.  Ramen for him.  We skyped mom and dad, finished up KonoSuba and then went to sleep.

Thursday, August 4th 
I got up at 7am and was on the road (showered, packed, breakfast-ed with ritz crackers and cheese) and would hit the road by 9:30.  My destination in Mountain Home, Idaho was an hour ahead of my current time zone so I'd lose it while driving.

Oregon was beautiful, though I passed through an area before Bend that was on fire, and the GPS took me up McKenzie Pass because it was 'faster' despite the switch backs and much slower speed.  It was a BEAUTIFUL detour though. I really want to go back, and actually know what I'm looking at... I'm guessing it's a volcano site, by what I've read here and there.  But hot damn that place is epic.

Anyway, the rest of Oregon was boring to tears, and Idaho was pretty dull too.  My host in Mountain Home wasn't home when I got there and I almost ended up leaving.  But I didn't, and she showed up, and I got to meet her dogs Daisy and ...starts with an M, but I forgot.  My host made Cabbage Chicken salad and some nice baked bread.  It was pretty good, considering I don't eat cabbage often.  The host put me up in a 'motel room' a couch to myself and a toilet to myself.  There was no hot water in the room but it was nice.

Friday, August 5th
More driving. I  left the house by 7:30, forgoing a shower and heading out.  Idaho's kinda boring, but Wyoming wasn't too terrible other than the construction.  If I'm ever going to drive through Wyoming, it'll be the south.  Colorado was beautiful, and I hit 287 south and found that I know the area.  Kate and I ride fairly often in the area.  It delighted me, since that meant I was coming nearer to home.

After the cut is photodump, and afterthoughts.

 I've always loved driving, this trip has not taken that pleasure from me one bit.  Time flies, miles tick, and the American west is vast and seemingly endless when you're on it all alone.

The HHR did alright, braking at high speeds or even accelerating quickly caused the vehicle to become unstable and pull about.  City traffic is something that terrifies me, and perhaps my father put the wrong windshield wiper blade on my car.  When going over 40mph the wiper skips and leaves the driver blind...clearly not a very good thing.  The tire pressure gauge went out on the way home, and the trip odometer intermittently reset throughout the drive, making it incredibly unreliable for any kind of measurement.

I can fully see and understand the draw to Oregon.  Driving home through Colorado was beautiful in its own, I will miss this state, but it's out priced us and it's time to move on.  I look forward to nurturing my new friendships when I'm fully relocated into Spokane. Big changes are ahead, and I hope that my entire family does well with them.

 

Wyoming has random(?) cut-outs on hills.  This was a bison, there was also horses and dinos.

Wyoming boarder!

Wyoming's most interesting scenery.

Pretty sure this is Montana, or about there.  It's prettier.

The cafe i sipped my mocha on the patio on, in Red Lodge Montana.

Super cute shop with the snarky shop-keep inside.

TEA! This is only part of one of the two shelves!

Driving through Beartooth Pass.

Beartooth Pass

In search for a waterfall, beartooth Pass.

Leaving Billings, there were a bunch of hot air balloons!

Driving though Montana.

Not sure where this one was, pretty sure Idaho/Montana area...

Oh hey that's me!

Teriyaki chicken on rice as a side to my Sushi with Samantha.

Neat little thing in the Spokane hotel.

The dock that was later filled with musicians for the firework show.  Riverfront park Spokane.

Donkey Kong in the arcade.  Mario looks so dumb.

Bored bedroom selfies in Spokane. (I do have shorts on!)

Hello there beautiful.  Spokane en route to Tacoma.

My room-mates back yard outside of Tacoma.

Huge ass Nerd-Bro dabbing on our pokemon walk.

Still want to know what kind of tree this is.

Bored ass Bro at breakfast. And some unamused person in the background.

Loved driving the East/Central area of Oregon. 

My GPS took me through Makenzie Pass, I wish I could've gotten more pictures. BUT TREES.

So apparently there was a volcano eruption up here... THAT explains it. 

Actual camera photo from Dee Wright Observatory area.

Camera photo through my filthy windshield of the interesting geography.

Pretty sure this was Idaho.

So yeah, click on the photos if you want them bigger.  Otherwise...apologies for bug-splatter.